- For now 93% of central banks are doing research on CBDC
- There could be as many as 15 retail and 9 wholesale digital currencies in circulation by 2030
- Only 4 CBDCs in circulation today
On July 10, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a report on CBDC that is based on a survey that involved 86 central banks. Agencies were surveyed about their work on developing retail, wholesale, or both types of CBDCs, the level of progress in these areas, and the motivation pushing them to do this work.
The survey found that most CBDCs around the world are experimenting or working on CBDC pilots. Almost a quarter are already testing their retail projects. But the number of wholesale CBDCs that are in operation is half that.
It’s interesting that emerging economies and markets are leading the way in digital currency adoption. Their contribution to the retail (29%) and wholesale (16%) CBDC pilots far exceeds that of advanced economies, which are 18% and 10%, respectively.
But almost all countries share a common motivation for establishing CBDC projects – achieving financial stability and improving international payments efficiency.
The percentage of central banks likely to issue a retail CBDC in the next three years has increased to 18%.. At the same time, 68% of CBDCs are not yet ready to issue a retail CBDC anytime soon.
Today, only four CBDCs are in circulation: in the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Nigeria.. However, according to the study, there will be 15 retail CBDCs and 9 wholesale CBDCs in circulation by the end of this decade.